County: Worst likely over as oil spill cleanup continues

Though cleanup work continues on Marin's shoreline, particularly in Bolinas and Stinson Beach, the worst may be over with regards to last Wednesday's oil spill, county officials said.

"We're starting to get a handle on it," said Bruce Stahley, a spokesman for the county sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, which closed its operations center Monday night. "We have enough resources available now.

"I think the biggest scare about this is over."

Of the 58,000 gallons spilled by the ship Cosco Busan in San Francisco Bay, skimmers and cleaners had recovered 12,745 gallons and accounted for 17,385, the Coast Guard reported.

While contractors continue to collect oil-soaked birds and globs of tar on Marin's beaches, work by cleanup crews could lead to the reopening of some closed areas soon, Coast Guard officials said. About 25 percent of the oily residue has been removed from Agate and RCA beaches, while Rodeo and Muir beaches are 60 percent clean and Stinson Beach is 80 percent clean, the Coast Guard reported Tuesday.

"China Beach has been cleaned, and it looks like Kirby and Rodeo have been as well," said Petty Officer David Marin of the Coast Guard's San Francisco District. "I'm not sure if they'll be reopened, but it looks like they could be."

County officials urged caution, saying it could be a while before the highly toxic fuel oil spilled last week is cleared.

"As far as we have been advised, all of our beaches will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time because of the public health issue," Stahley said.

All fishing for human consumption in the spill area has been suspended until Dec. 1, according to an order signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday.

"Our priority must be getting the oil cleaned up as quickly as possible, rescuing all marine life and, most importantly, protecting the public health," Schwarzenegger said.

State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata blasted the governor for failing to make appointments to regional water boards or funding or staffing the state's oil spill prevention program, charging that Schwarzenegger's inaction contributed to problems associated with the spill.

But a spokesman for the governor countered that the changes Perata had requested would not have taken effect until Jan. 1, and would have had no impact on the Nov. 7 spill.

The Cosco Busan itself may be moved from the middle of San Francisco Bay to an Oakland shipyard, according to a spokesman for owner Regal Stone Ltd.

The U.S. attorney general and other agencies are investigating the Nov. 7 crash, in which human error has been cited as a factor.

In Bolinas, county parks and open space rangers struggled without success to protect the entrance to Bolinas Lagoon after the estuary's last remaining oil-absorbing boom collapsed.

The failure of five booms - including one rangers attempted to install Tuesday morning - in the fast-moving currents of the lagoon has led county officials to consider a new strategy to protect the area.

"We've requested what's called pom-pom booming," said Sharon McNamee, county director of parks and open space. "They look literally like pom-poms, and can be placed in various areas to absorb the oil."

Rangers and contractors working with three shoreline cleanup teams have found oil on the Bolinas coast along Highway 1, along the Seadrift wall and within Seadrift Lagoon, an area separate from the Bolinas Lagoon, McNamee said. A county cleanup crew will focus on those three areas Wednesday, she said.

County workers searched Marin's parkland shores for oil while continuing to remove hundreds of bags of petroleum goo from Agate and RCA beaches in Bolinas, McNamee said. About 400 to 500 contractors worked to clean Muir, Stinson, Agate, RCA and Kirby beaches Tuesday, as well as Angel Island.

Oil-covered birds continued to stream into the Marin Humane Society and San Rafael's WildCare wildlife rehabilitation center Tuesday. Throughout the Bay Area, 652 live birds and 485 dead birds have been received by the Oil and Wildlife Care Network, Stahley said.

"We expected a lot more DOAs, but so far today, it's half and half for us," said Melanie Piazza, director of animal care for WildCare. "There's been a lot of surf scoters, which just finished their migration, as well as a lot of grebes, cormorants, gulls and different ducks."

Southern Marin fire stations reported the number of birds brought in by local residents had slowed to a trickle.

"I think it's all calmed down at this point, with no further oil showing in any areas along the Sausalito waterfront," said Sausalito Fire Chief Denis Walsh.

No birds arrived at the Tiburon Fire Station on Tuesday. The station received three birds Monday, said Battalion Chief Kelly Bradley.

"We have a boom out there taking care of most of the oil, and keeping it out of the yacht club," Bradley said.

Officials remain concerned that a change in wind or water conditions could send waves of oily water back to Marin's coast.

"If any of that re-oiling takes place, we're going to send ? teams to those sites and work at cleaning them up," Stahley said.